


Going Through Changes

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Age Play, Ageplay, Angst, Baby Niall, Family, M/M, Middle Harry, Oldest Louis, and he doesn't understand is all, and his daddies eventually help him and it is okay, and takes it out on everyone else instead of dealing with the problem, but he's just little, louis is super embarrassed about being seven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-03-11 16:32:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3331493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Soon, Zayn and Liam were tucking the boys in every night and waking them up every morning. All of their little ones’ tastes changed. They went from playing video games and getting smashed to playing with toy cars and getting ice cream after dinner if they were good. </p>
<p>It suited them. They were happy. </p>
<p>Until Louis wasn’t so sure."</p>
<p>In which Louis struggles to figure out what makes him happy, and his family tries to be there for him the best that they can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going Through Changes

**Author's Note:**

> Louis is gonna be a li'l grumpy and mean towards the middle, but he's JUST SCARED. YOU WILL SEE.

There was a lot that could be said about the Mayne's home life, but no one could deny that their family was a happy one. Sure, it was rather unorthodox. You didn't see many young adults voluntarily regressing themselves to the age of small children, nor did you ever see three under one roof. However, with the stress of being on tour, the anxiety of being watched and judged by so many people, and the general burden of being away from your family, your hometowns, a familiar normal life…

Well, it was only natural to need an escape, and frankly, Liam and Zayn were just glad that their boys had found such a harmless way to make themselves relax.

It had started out innocently. As pressures mounted, Louis, Harry and Niall all started to require a bit more attention and a bit more help than they usually did. Neither Liam nor Zayn could pinpoint where it started, but they both had noticed the steadily growing amount of time they spent with boys cuddled in their laps.

They had begun with things like: "Liam, would you make me some cereal?" and "Zayn, I can't even begin thinking about what to wear today, would you pick it out?"

Their questions soon dissolved into: "I had a nightmare, can I sleep with you?" and "I don't wanna walk, would you carry me?" and "Can you please leave the light on, I don't like the dark."

Soon, Zayn and Liam were tucking the boys in every night and waking them up every morning. All of their little ones' tastes changed. They went from playing video games and getting smashed to playing with toy cars and getting ice cream after dinner if they were good.

It suited them. They were happy.

Until Louis wasn't so sure.

* * *

Zayn was busy feeding Niall breakfast when he heard Louis bounding down the stairs. "Zayn? Liam? I'm gonna go out for a bit, I'll be back later!"

Zayn looked away from Niall, who was happily eating bits of syrupy pancake at the kitchen table. "Keep your voice down, love, Harry is still sleeping and Liam is having a lie in."

This wasn't unusual. Every now and then, the boys would wake up in an older headspace than usual and want to get away from the house for a bit. Liam and Zayn didn't have a problem with it. It was more natural for them to want to go out and be adults than sit at home and be little kids. Louis, however, was the one who most frequently adopted his grown-up personality. Harry came second, and Niall… Well, Niall was mostly content just to be little.

"Sorry," Louis apologized, genuinely not intending to wake anybody up. He grabbed his car keys from the hook by the kitchen door. "Hey, Niall, buddy. What's going on?" he asked, ruffling his blond hair. Niall smiled up at his big brother.

"Louis!" he exclaimed, holding up his sticky, syrup-covered hands. "Look!"

Louis laughed, and held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, watch where you put those things! They're so sticky, if you're not careful, you'll glue us together!" Louis laughed again at the confused, worried look that crossed Niall's features. "I'm just kidding, squirt. But keep your hands to yourself."

Zayn looked at Louis questioningly, interrupting the conversation. "Where are you off to, Lou?" he asked, wringing his hands together. It was always nerve-wracking when one of his babies left the house, especially Louis. Sometimes he didn't come home for days without any warning. Zayn never knew where he was, what he was up to… It was scary, especially knowing that at any moment, Louis could revert back into his headspace and find himself scared and alone.

"Just to see some mates back home." When Zayn didn't look at all relieved, Louis rolled his eyes. "Relax,  _mum_. I'll be home soon."

Zayn couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at that. Louis had always been a little disrespectful and a lot sassy, but he had the habit of being a bit too condescending about certain aspects of their home relationship. He'd made more than a few offensive comments in his grown-up state about Niall being a baby, Harry being stupid, and Zayn and Liam being too overprotective.

But then he went back to being little and happy, and any worries Zayn had about Louis being devoted to their family quickly washed away. Normally, Louis liked to be about seven-years-old. He was at a good age, where he could still feel supported and taken care of, but also could help his brothers or himself whenever Zayn and Liam were in a pinch.

"Sorry," Zayn apologized, feeling incredibly awkward. "Just, um… Try to maybe check-in a bit this time?"

"Sure," Louis agreed as he marched out the back door, and Zayn turned back to Niall.

"Harry is going to be very grumpy when he wakes up," he said to the blond-haired boy. Niall just stuffed another piece of pancake in his mouth and held his sticky hands out to Zayn.

* * *

Liam goaded Harry on as he squinted at the words on the page. "Come on, Hazzy! You can do it! You're such a good reader, just sound it out!" he said encouragingly, pointing at the first letter in the word.

"Mmm…Mmm…Moont…Mount… Moutain. Mountain!" Harry yelped as he read the word phonetically. "He climbed the mountain!"

Harry was starting to work on learning how to read. Liam had been alarmed to learn that Harry couldn't read in his headspace, and after some conversation between him and Zayn, he had taken it upon himself to reteach the younger boy how. He didn't want to push the other boy into something he didn't want to do. The whole point of having Harry as his little one was to keep him relaxed, and he didn't want to stress him by forcing book after book on him.

However, Harry was at an age where reading was important. He was approximately five years old, a place in early childhood development where most kids started to learn these things, and right between Louis and Niall. Harry was more mobile than Niall. He wanted to do more things on his own and run off and explore. He had to be able to read directions or find his way home if he got lost. Niall couldn't read either, but he tended to sit next to his daddies and suck his paci. Meanwhile, Louis was twice as rambunctious as Harry was, but he had no problem reading in his regressed state, so Liam didn't need to teach him.

"Good job, Harry! I'm so proud of you!" he exclaimed, kissing the kindergartner-at-heart's cheek.

"Why?" Louis asked from the other side of the playroom. He had gotten home from his impromptu trip a few days ago and had been in a bad mood ever since. "That wasn't even a hard word, Harry's just _stupid_ ," he said snottily, all the while ramming two matchbox cars together.

Harry's bottom lip quivered, and Liam gathered his little boy up into his lap. "Louis William, we do  _not_  talk to our brothers that way," he reprimanded. He carded his fingers through Harry's hair, sensing his middle son starting to get upset. Harry was undoubtedly the most sensitive of the three littles, especially when Louis was the one being mean. He practically idolized the older boy, and any insult from him was especially painful. "You need to apologize to Harry right this instant."

" _No_ ," Louis drawled, looking rather proud of himself. "Harry is stupid. I know because he can't read and reading is easy."

Liam gave Louis a stern look. "Reading isn't easy for everyone, especially people who are just learning how. Harry is only just starting, and he's doing a very good job. Now, apologize, Louis, before you get a turn in timeout," he advised.

Louis's eyes widened at the mention of a timeout. He had gotten more than enough of those in the past couple days. "Fine. Sorry, Harry," he grumbled after resigning himself to the fact that maybe there  _was_  an apology in order. Harry scrubbed at his nose.

"S'kay," he agreed. Louis looked at Harry for a few minutes before holding one of his toy cars out to the other boy from across the playroom.

"Wanna be the blue one?" he asked, and a smile spread across Harry's lips, argument already long forgotten.

"Yes!"

* * *

"Daddy! Baba! Niall went potty in his pants!" Harry exclaimed, barging into Liam and Zayn's master bedroom. The two adults shared a look. They were more than used to this kind of thing from Niall by now.

Niall was humiliated by it, of course. However, he had been long having accidents in his sleep, dating back to before they had become an official family. So far, they had him in pull-ups during the night –a fact they had yet to divulge to their other two sons in order to give Niall some privacy- but they were starting to think about giving Niall some protection during the day as well. Their mentally youngest boy was starting to have accidents even when he was awake.

This was the first time Harry or Louis had noticed.

"All right, Harry. We'll take care of it," Liam promised, eying Zayn. Harry nodded his head, curls bouncing, before running off. Liam sighed. "Do you think we should…?" He didn't bother to fill in the sentence.

"I think he'll be embarrassed, but it's getting to be a pain to keep up with the laundry," Zayn answered, biting his bottom lip. "Plus, it's like… I doubt he wants his brothers seeing him with wet pants. Having a pull-up is probably the better option."

Liam considered Zayn's opinion for a moment. "…Fine," he agreed reluctantly, starting to head out of the bedroom towards the sounds of Niall crying, "But you're telling him, not me."

"Fair enough," Zayn agreed, pinching his boyfriend's bum as he walked by. Liam batted him away, a bright smile on his face.

All his happiness was quickly thrown out the window, however, when he found Niall crying on the floor with wet pants and Louis yelling at him from above.

"That's so  _gross_ , Niall! You're 'posed to use the potty! Why would you do that? That's so nasty!" he was shouting. Liam was the first to get between the two.

"Oi, Louis. That is enough. I'm in charge, and I'm not mad. It's called an 'accident' for a reason, all right? Niall didn't do it on purpose," he explained. Meanwhile, Zayn swept Niall up in his arms and carried him away to clean him up.

"But it's  _gross_ ," Louis replied, looking wronged. Liam noticed Harry hovering in the doorway and sighed.

"Harry? Why don't you come sit down on the couch. Louis, you too," he directed. Harry seemed sheepish that he had been caught eavesdropping, and Louis looked disgruntled. To be fair, he had looked disgruntled ever since he had come home from being with his friends' a few weeks ago. "Now that you two know about Niall's accidents, it's important that you know you have to be very sensitive about it," he informed them.

Louis caught on a little too quickly. His jaw dropped. "Wait! Niall has accidents a  _lot?_  Like… like  _all the time?_ " Harry looked between Louis and Liam for a sign of confirmation. Liam ran a hand over his head.

"Yes, sweetheart. Niall is going to start wearing pull-ups."

Louis's nose crinkled up. "But that's  _gross_. You can't just let him go potty in his pants!" he exclaimed, obviously not understanding the situation. Harry –who put value to every word Louis said- gasped.

"Yeah, daddy! Niall can't go potty in his pants! You have to say no!" he exclaimed. Liam bit back a laugh due to the out-of-place, grave look on Harry's face. With Harry's soft features and big eyes, it was hard to take him seriously.

"No, no," Liam corrected gently, putting a hand on each of his boys' knee. "We aren't  _letting_  Niall wee himself. You remember how we have talked about you boys being very anxious? And how that makes you act a bit younger?" He was met with two head nods. "Right. Well, Niall is very, very, very stressed. And it is very, very, very hard for him to handle it. And while, Harry, you can't help not being very good at reading anymore, and Louis, you can't help needing a hand when you tie your shoes, Niall can't help having trouble making it to the bathroom."

Harry seemed to take Liam's word as final and nodded his head in understanding. Louis, meanwhile, looked traumatized. "No. You can't let him do that. You have to say no. Tell him  _no_ ," Louis demanded. Liam pressed his lips together.

"It's not that simple, love. Baba and I have been talking about it lots, and pull-ups are the best option for Niall." Forcing anything on the boys only stressed them out more, forcing them to regress further. Zayn and Liam wouldn't be able to fight Niall's accidents with discipline. It would be best for them to let things progress naturally and help Niall out slowly, as they would with a real three-year-old.

"I don't like that; that's weird."

Liam held back a groan, inwardly praying that this was just a phase for Louis. It was hard to have him be this judgmental and grumpy all the time. "Well, you don't have to like it. You just have to be nice to Niall and not tease him about it," he said, hoping to save his baby some embarrassment.

Louis crossed his arms over his chest and mumbled an agreement, while Harry nodded enthusiastically next to him. Liam hummed and kissed both of their foreheads, hoping beyond all hopes that Louis would soon perk up and be the probably-seven-year-old he had come to know and love.

* * *

Liam couldn't remember the last time he so enjoyed a day with his new family. Louis was finally, finally,  _finally_  in a better mood. Harry was happy because Louis was happy, their relationship as codependent as ever, and Niall was finally perking up a bit after being put in pull-ups full time.

In honor of the occasion, Liam decided to bake cookies with his two older boys while Niall took his customary afternoon nap.

"I'm going to go put Niall down," Zayn said as two o'clock reared its ugly head. Most of the time, Niall went to bed without a fuss. He liked naps, especially when Zayn was the one who brought him upstairs because if Zayn put Niall down, then he would usually take a nap with him. Sometimes, however, Niall would throw massive tantrums to avoid sleep all together.

Fortunately, today was a rare, blissful day at the Mayne household and Niall lifted his arms eagerly for Zayn to take him upstairs for a shared nap.

Liam watched as Zayn carried his baby upstairs, cute little giggles coming from Niall as Zayn kissed his cheek. He smiled before turning to Harry and Louis. "Boys, want to make some sugar cookies? I'll let you decorate!" he offered, pulling their attention away from their Saturday afternoon cartoons.

Harry squeaked in excitement, making to get up before looking at Louis for approval. (Harry liked doing whatever Louis wanted to do.) Fortunately, Louis looked just as excited, and both boys quickly followed Liam into the kitchen.

"All right, lads. Sit at the counter," he instructed, before pulling out ingredients. He passed Louis all of the liquids and gave Harry everything dry. Louis managed to measure out everything on his own, while Liam helped Harry count out scoops of flour. Normally, Louis would insert a comment about Harry being stupid for not being able to do it on his own, but today he was thankfully quiet.

"One… Two… Three… Four! There, all done!" Liam exclaimed, clapping Harry's hands for him after they dumped the last scoop of sugar into the bowl. "Okay, now all we have to do is mix it, and then we can roll it out and make shapes."

"Oh, oh! Can I mix, Daddy?" Louis asked, excitement evident on his face. Liam happily passed the bowl to his oldest, pressing a kiss through his hair.

"Sure thing, sweetheart. You stir."

Louis enthusiastically mixed the sugar cookie dough together, doing a great job of taking turns with Harry when the younger boy whined that he wanted to stir, too. Soon, Liam was flouring the countertop and rolling out sugar cookie dough. He pulled out a box of different cookie cutters and let the boys have at it.

Harry cut out an impressive number of butterflies, birds, and flowers, while Louis created nearly all dinosaur and star shapes. Liam put both of their creations on separate trays.

"Okay, who wants sprinkles?" he asked, and Louis sat up on his heels.

"Me! Me, I want red, please!" Lou asked, reaching for a set of Valentine's Day jimmies from his dad. Harry pouted and sat up a little in his chair as well.

"I want red, too!" he demanded, hoping for some of the same.

"You boys can share," Liam suggested because that would probably work today. Louis was being so agreeable. Harry was practically glowing under all of the positive attention from his big brother and hero. Even Niall seemed to have cheered up due to the energy-change in Louis.

Eventually, all the cookies were decorated, and Liam popped them in the oven. "Daddy? Can we watch TV again, please?" Louis asked, following the house rule. The littles had to ask before watching anything on television. Liam and Zayn didn't want their minds to turn to mush in front of the screen, and usually only let them spend two hours max bummed out on the couch. Harry and Louis had already spent their 120 minutes watching Bubble Guppies, but they were so well behaved, that Liam didn't want to say no and start a fight.

"All right," he caved. "One show. How about Umi-Zumi?" he asked, knowing Harry would be thrilled. Liam had heard the theme song so many times, he could sing it in his sleep

"'Kay," Louis agreed, even though the show was a little young for him. It was perfect for Harry, though, and his probably-five-year-old jumped up and down in excitement.

Liam put on the show for them and tidied up the kitchen while they were occupied. An hour later, Zayn and Niall had finally made it downstairs from their nap, both a little groggy, and Liam laughed as he caught sight of his boyfriend's sleepy face. "I swear, you might as well be a baby, too," he teased, handing both of his boys a cookie.

Zayn made a grumbling noise, holding the biscuit in his mouth so he could hoist Niall up in his arms a bit.

Liam smiled and kissed both of their faces. He was in a good mood, and nothing could stop it. Finally, everyone seemed to be just how they were meant to be.

* * *

Unfortunately, just because Louis was in a semi-decent mood, that didn't mean all of the problems in the Mayne household suddenly went away. Harry was still having trouble reading, and Liam couldn't seem to convince him to give it another go. Ever since Louis had gone on a streak of insulting him every time he practiced, Harry had been too insecure to go near another picture book.

In addition, Louis wasn't back to being 100 percent himself, yet. He still made the off comment that rattled his brothers' feelings, particularly Niall. While it took a bit more to hurt Niall's feelings than Harry, the blonde was more in tune with his family's emotions.

The mounting tension between Louis and the rest of his family was obviously mounting on Niall's shoulders, and with the added strain came added stress. Stress which directly affected Niall's bladder.

"Niall, sweetheart, do you need a change?" Zayn asked as he did periodically. Sometimes Niall was too invested with his toys or pacifier to really pay attention to his lower half. Zayn had found him in a soaked pull-up with a nasty diaper rash one too many times to go without asking every hour or so.

Niall looked up at Zayn and squirmed a bit, dummy bobbing in his mouth. The blonde's nose crinkled as he realized he was squishing around in a soaked pull up. He nodded his head and lifted his arms toward Zayn.

"Up we go, love," Zayn said, taking the paci out of Niall's mouth so he could talk to him properly. He and Liam were trying to wean the younger boy off using the dummy, but it was proving to be more difficult than anticipated. "How are you doing with your pull-ups? Are you okay?" he asked, noticing how Niall's cheeks were turning red.

"S'barrassing," he slurred, the word a little too big for his young vocabulary. Zayn hummed, kissing his baby's cheek.

"I know it must feel that way to you, but it must be better than going potty in your pants, right? Now Daddy and I can clean you up faster so you can get back to playing. And no one has to see you all soaked through," he replied comfortingly, rubbing Niall's back on the way up the stairs.

"Louis is mean, though, Baba," Niall replied, his eyes wide. Zayn frowned, entering the bathroom and sitting Niall on the counter.

"He's mean? How so?" Zayn asked, holding both of his baby's hands just in case he started tilting from side to side and nearly fell off.

"Mean," Niall repeated, blinking owlishly as Zayn like he was expected to understand what Niall meant magically without explanation. Zayn bit the inside of his cheek. Sometimes the age regression got in the way of Niall's communication skills.

"Does he make fun of you?" Zayn asked, letting go of Niall for just a second to run his hand through Niall's hair. Niall sniffed in response. Zayn sighed. "I'm going to talk to him, okay? You don't have to be embarrassed, Niall, you're perfect the way you are."

* * *

"Louis, I swear to God, you will apologize to Harry  _right now_. I am sick of your behavior, you  _will_  say sorry _,_ " Liam demanded, putting his foot down literally and metaphorically. Louis stuck his nose out from the top of the stairs, glaring at both Harry and Liam at the bottom.

"No! Harry's dumb! He's a big, fat, dumb baby! He can't do  _anything_ , he can't even spell his own name!" he exclaimed, misplaced anger in his voice.

Liam was beyond exasperated. This was the third time today that Louis had made Harry cry. It was distressing to see such cruelty from his little boy. He hadn't taught Louis to behave like this, and he certainly had never condoned it. He didn't know where it was coming from.

"Louis, you know that's not true."

"Even  _I_ can spell Harry's name!" Louis continued, not listening. "Listen! H-A-R-R-Y."

Liam gritted his teeth together. "Louis, apologize right now, or I-"

"H-A-R-R-Y!" Louis shouted over him.

Liam's hands fisted at his sides. "I'm going to count to three. 1…"

"H-A-R-R-Y!"

"2…"

"H-A-R-R-Y!"

"3…"

"H-A-R-R-Y!"

"All right, that's it," Liam said, marching up the stairs to deal with his son. He grabbed the boy's wrist and led him over to the nearest timeout mat. He directed Louis to stand on top of it. "Timeout. Ten minutes."

"No!" Louis shouted in his face.

"Yes," Liam said firmly, setting his watch.

"No!" Louis disagreed, seeming to favor one-word arguments today.

"Yes," Liam replied.

"No!"

"Yes, Louis, I am the dad, and I am in charge. You need to listen. You need to stay in time out," he demanded. Louis's face screwed up in response, his face growing redder and redder until he started screaming loud enough for the neighbors to hear (which was saying something because the Mayne family had a 50 acre property to give themselves some privacy).

" _No!_  You're not my dad, and you're not in charge, and I don't need to listen to you! I don't even  _like_  you! You're annoying, and gross, and Harry is dumb, and Niall is disgusting, and I hate all of you! I hate living here!" he exclaimed. He glared fiercely at Liam before finishing it all off by repeating, " _I_   _hate it, I hate it, I hate it!_ " at the top of his lungs.

Liam's jaw dropped. Harry's head peaked out from around the staircase banister, and Zayn stepped into the hall with a very stressed and shocked looking Niall in his arms.

Louis stood their breathing heavy before he shook his head and seemed to come out of a trance. "I'm leaving for the night, Liam," he said, his voice sounding oddly older. Suddenly, they were dealing with grown-up Louis. "See you tomorrow, probably. I don't have a fucking clue."

"Um… yeah, okay," Liam agreed. He wasn't a dad to grown-up Louis. Louis Mayne, sure, he had some control over. There was an unspoken agreement that Liam was the dad, and Louis was the child. Louis  _wanted_  it that way, or so he had thought. Meanwhile, Louis Tomlinson was his own person from a different family. If he chose to leave, then Liam couldn't stop him.

"Great," Louis said, but he didn't  _sound_  great. He knocked shoulders with Liam on the way past and ignored Harry on the stairs. The sound of the front door slamming resonated through the house.

Everyone was still before Harry erupted into tears. "I miss Louis! I miss him being nice," he hiccupped through sniffles and snuffles. Liam cooed, coming into himself a little bit. He picked Harry up and kissed his salty cheeks.

"Oh, sweetheart," he gushed, holding him close and unsure of what to say. He locked eyes with Zayn over Harry's shoulder. Zayn looked back grimly over Niall's.

"I think Niall needs a change," he said after a moment before excusing the two of them to the bathroom. Liam watched them go, a weird hole forming in his heart. Eventually, he knew what to say to Harry.

"I miss him too, Haz."

* * *

Louis doesn't come back the next day. Or the next. Or the next. In fact, it's about a week and a half until Louis comes home, and things are considerably different than when he left.

Neither Niall nor Harry do well without Louis home. Niall has all but given up on the bathroom. He goes if Zayn and Liam stick him on the toilet long enough, but it's frustrating to potty-train someone who has accidents due to stress rather than ignorance. Teaching Niall doesn't make a difference. He knows how to make it to the potty. The fact of the matter is, that the accidents aren't his fault.

Meanwhile, Harry is at a loss without his partner in crime. Their middle child spent most of his time mimicking Louis, trying to please Louis, doing what Louis wanted to… It was clear he took it the hardest when Louis left. He spent most of his time either lying around being miserable or acting out against this parents. He had grown fussy and moody without Louis around to perk him up.

Even Zayn and Liam struggled with Louis's absence. They were just so worried about him. He hadn't called, he hadn't rang… The boys kept asking where Louis went, but they had no clue what to tell them. He could be dead in a ditch, and they wouldn't know.

So when Louis came home it was almost a miracle, almost being the operative word.

* * *

"Oh, Louis, why can't you just leave him alone?" Zayn asked desperately one day when Louis was teasing Niall –yet again- for his accidents. Niall was crying silently on the floor in humiliation, his pants wet after the filters of his pull-up had broken after too many uses.

Louis's incessant teasing had caused Niall to completely clam up about when he was wet or dry. Zayn used to be able to trust him when he said he didn't need a change. Now he was never sure. Niall would rather sit in his mess than admit he had made one when Louis could hear.

"Because it's  _nasty_. Niall is so… yucky for doing that all the time. It's gross."

Zayn felt like crying. This family had been so great at the start, but a few harsh words had it crumbling apart. He and Liam had tried to talk to Louis over and over about what was bothering him. This wasn't their sweet boy. He wouldn't behave like this on his own accord; something must be wrong.

However, Louis refused to talk, and it was driving his parents crazy.

"Louis, honey, I love you, but you're… You need to stop. You're hurting your brothers, and you're hurting your daddies. Can't you see how upset everyone is? Please… please just relax. Please calm down. Niall can't help the way he is, the same way you can't help how you are, and Harry can't help how he is," Zayn explained, picking Niall up off the ground. The boy was dead weight in his arms.

"No!" Louis yelled back, throwing a Lego at Zayn's head, and Zayn… Zayn gave up. Niall was a mess, emotionally and physically, and Zayn was tired of talking to his son only to be blown off.

He gave Niall a bath, singing to get the younger boy to perk up a little. Normally, he would talk to Niall about what had happened, but his vocabulary had shrunk to maybe six or so words since Louis had come back home. (Niall managed 'yes', 'no,', 'I', 'love', 'you', and 'want' all on a regular basis.)

Zayn dried his baby off, and by the time he was squeaky-clean it was time for his nap. Zayn laid him down with tension mounting in his shoulders. He only worked himself up more and more until Niall was tucked in and he could go find Liam working on folding clothes in the laundry room.

"Liam…" he croaked. His boyfriend turned around and quickly took in the sight of him. Zayn watched with empathy as Liam's face screwed up.

"I know," Liam said, nodding a little bit. "I know, I'm just…"

"Me, too," Zayn agreed. They had never needed to finish their sentences to understand the each other, and they weren't going to start needing to now. "I just want him back."

* * *

Harry is the one who finds the bed empty and a note in Louis's place.

To be fair, they all saw it coming. Louis obviously wasn't happy living with them, though Liam and Zayn had no idea why. However, they hadn't been expecting Louis to up and leave without saying goodbye.

… Or maybe they had, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Daddy, I want Louis," Harry said at dinner a few nights afterwards, his face blotchy and eyes puffy from crying all day. Liam and Zayn locked eyes over the table before both turning to Harry.

"I know, Hazzy. I think Louis just needs to figure some things out on his own, is all," Liam eventually said. He genuinely believed it, too; he just wished he knew what was on Louis's mind. He also wished he knew where he was, what he was doing. It was stressful to be a dad to someone one minute and only a friend the next.

Harry rolled peas around his plate with a fork. For a minute, there was only the sound of Zayn making funny faces and noises to get Niall to eat his dinner.

While Harry seemed to get sad and moody, Niall seemed to just get younger to block it all out. Apparently, he was done feeding himself as well. Zayn had graciously taken on the roll of superdad to take care of him properly, while Liam went about making phone call after phone call to try and find Louis.

"Why'd you have to let Niall wear nappies? And… and why'd you have to yell at him so much? And… and… and… and why do I hafta be so dumb?" Harry asked after a short spell. Liam reached out and held Harry's hand. He thought for a moment before speaking.

"…Hazza. Niall needs to be protected from accident. Louis needed to be reprimanded when he hurt yours and Niall's feelings. And  _you_  are not stupid by any means," he clarified. "You three –Niall, Louis, and you- all have a very,  _very_  tough time handling negative feelings, okay? Louis might look a bit more under control because he is a little older than you, but he's obviously having a hard time with something, he just doesn't know how to talk about it," Liam explained seriously. Harry's bottom lip wobbled.

"Well, why can't he just… just figure it out? I want him here and to be nice," Harry explained. Liam sighed.

"I dunno, love… I dunno."

* * *

It's not for another two weeks before they finally find Louis. His mom ratted him out accidentally, not understanding that the boys were in a bit of a tussle and that Louis wouldn't want her revealing her location to anyone. After some debate of how they should approach things, Zayn and Liam decided to get a babysitter until they came home, hopefully with Louis in toe.

They ended up leaving Niall and Harry in the capable hands of their on-tour musicians (because it would take more than one person to watch over a depressed Harry and a tiny Niall), and headed off to the hotel Louis was staying at. After asking reception, they quickly discovered Louis's room number and made it upstairs in record time. Zayn was the one to gather up the courage to knock on the door.

Louis didn't open up.

Zayn knocked again. "Louis? We know you're in there," Zayn said through the door. Eventually, it cracked open the slightest bit and cerulean eyes peaked out through the gap.

"What?" Louis asked, voice gruff.

"We're here to talk with you," Liam said, sticking his foot in the space between the door and the frame, just in case Louis tried to lock them out.

Louis stared at them for a few minutes before his face screwed up. "Are you mad?" he asked. All at once, he sounded  _so_  young, and  _so_  scared, and  _so_  vulnerable, that Liam wondered what they could have been missing all this time.

"No, Louis, babes, we just want to talk. We're worried about you out here all alone," his boyfriend replied. Liam reached out and took Zayn's hand supportively, grateful that his partner had managed to find his voice during all of this.

Louis didn't reply, but he did let them in. The hotel room was messy to Louis's standards. There were clothes thrown everywhere and trash was piling out of the wastebasket. Surprisingly, there were a lot of stuffed animals in the room. Liam hadn't thought Louis would have taken any of them with him, but here they were, taking up space and cluttering things up even more.

Liam sat in the desk chair, while Zayn took an armchair by the window. Louis folded himself up on his bed and twiddled his thumbs, but both of his dads were content to wait for him to speak first.

"I… I'm not sure about this all, anymore," Louis said, his voice grown yet troubled. Apparently the time away had been good for Louis this time around. It had given him some time to mellow and think.

"What do you mean by 'this all'?" Liam asked, twisting a bit in his desk chair to release some nervous energy. Louis huffed.

"Like… like this whole… me being seven thing," Louis explained.

Zayn grunted and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He didn't respond to Louis, but rather got straight to the point. "Louis, we're here to get you to come home," he said plainly. Louis looked a bit frustrated.

"Right, well I just  _said_ , I don't think I don't want to be seven," Louis explained, annoyed. Zayn nodded.

"I didn't say that we're here to make you act like a seven-year-old," Zayn replied. Once again, Liam was glad that he was the one doing the speaking so that he didn't have to. "I said that we're here to convince you to come home. We don't care if you're in your twenties, or your teens, or your single-digits, or your triple-digits. We just want you back with us. You're family misses you," he explained.

Louis looked upset. "But I don't. Want. To. Be.  _Seven_ ," he replied back forcefully before his face melted into something akin to remorse. "Or… I don't  _know_ if I want to be seven."

Liam cleared his throat, finally finding words. "Louis, it's okay if you don't know. Zayn and I have never wanted to force you into being something you're not. In fact, that's why at first our little family went so well, yeah? Because you were being just who you wanted to be by being ours. However, we would prefer if you figured it out by being home with us… And also by trying to talk to us instead of yelling at your brothers."

Louis looked away, the tell tale twitch in his nose proving that he was irritated.

Zayn spoke up. "Listen, Louis. We… We can't have you out here alone. We know that you're grown-up, and you can make your own decisions… but you not talking to us… what happens if you wake up feeling small again, yeah? What if you wake up small, and lost, and scared? We can't have you alone, mate, that's dangerous."

Liam nodded in agreement. "Yeah. And not only that, but Harry and Niall need you home."

"They don't need me," Louis said, blowing him off. It was a small step in the right direction, though, that he didn't argue when Zayn told him it was unsafe to be out on his own. Liam shook his head.

"Yes, they do. I know you were mean to them before you left, but Harry still idolizes you. I think he's forgotten every mean word you've ever said to him, all he does is mope and miss you… sometimes he yells and throws tantrums, but only because he wants you home."

"Yeah, and Niall needs you too," Zayn tacked on. "He doesn't do well with a tense household, and having you back would relax him… And I think having you accept him would make him feel a billion times better about who he is right now."

They had such high hopes coming here, but the gasp of exasperation that Louis let out in response to their little speech was anything but reassuring. Louis flopped back on the bed.

"It's just that it's too much. Like it's way too much. It's so fucking weird that Niall needs nappies and that Harry can't read. They're… They're practically adults, how does that even happen?"

"The same way it happened to you," Liam replied. "When you're in your headspace, you lose track of big words, and you stop pronouncing everything correctly. When you're happy, you lose all your sass, and when you're hungry, you're a messy eater. You guys are stressed, you're having a hard time processing… it's natural that you're going to try and find some kind of relief. Maybe your method of relaxing is a little different than other's, but that doesn't mean you're a bad person," Liam replied, desperate to get Louis to understand and stop judging his brothers so harshly.

Louis stared at the both of them for a really long time.

"It's just…" he trailed off.

When it became evident that Louis wasn't going to finish his thought, Zayn prompted him to continue. "It's just what, buddy?"

"It's just that… I'm so… I'm so…"

"So what?" Zayn asked kindly, paying close attention. This was it. The reason for all Louis's bad behavior, the reason for his screaming and frustration. The reason for everything.

"I'm so  _embarrassed_ ," he admitted before all of a sudden he was shaking with sobs. Tears rolled down his face in big fat droplets and Liam was instantly on his feet, wrapping him up into a big hug while Zayn encompassed their son's other side. "It's like… it's like I finally realized what I was doing, and I feel like such an idiot. But… But I hate this. I hate being on my own. I  _miss_  you, but I don't… I don't know how to feel like me, and to feel safe, and to feel happy without acting like such a freak around you all the time."

Liam rubbed Louis's back a bit, worried he would make himself sick if he kept crying as hard as he was. Liam readjusted him so that Louis was seated in his lap with his legs stretched across Zayn's. "You're not a freak, Louis. Two of yours best mates act the exact same way you do, and they're not weird, are they?"

"Well… they are a  _little_ ," Louis replied before backtracking. "I mean… I yelled at them way too much, I know I did, but it's scary… I don't want to be that small. They can't do anything. I want to be able to do things," he explained, covering his face with his hands. Meanwhile, his crying showed no signs of slowing.

Zayn was the one to respond this time. "Then don't be little, Louis. Just be you. Like you have been. I think… I think you're overthinking it. Just act any way you want to. Whether that's like a seven-year-old, or like a kitten, or like a shoebox… I don't care, just come  _home_. I just want you  _home,_  we all want you home," Zayn all but gasped, reaching out to card a hand through Louis's hair.

Louis looked at them both seriously. "If you had to be the one to chose: Would you want me to come home as Louis Mayne or Louis Tomlinson?" he asked. Liam tsked.

"No, babes, we can't make that decision for you, so please don't ask," Liam answered. Meanwhile Zayn seemed to have another opinion to voice.

"Louis… I mean… Honestly, my favorite side of you is the happy side of you. And I feel like… I feel like the happiest I've ever seen you is that first week when you were ours? And… and we'd just gotten the pool in the backyard, and you we let you and Harry go swimming together every day? Remember?" Zayn asked, waiting for a sign of confirmation that Louis knew what he was talking about. "We didn't even  _know_  what age you were or wanted to be then. We just knew that you wanted to start calling us daddy and baba, and that was enough."

Louis rubbed his nose off on his hand. "I dunno how to be like that again, though. I've… I've kinda messed up everything," he replied. The guilt was plain on his face. Zayn shook his head.

"Love… We all love you, okay? Your brothers, too. I think all you have to do is say sorry, and then we can work the rest out from there, okay? We can talk as much as you need, we can figure out a solution, we can help you make up your mind… but we need to do it together. Come  _home_ ," Zayn repeated. Liam cracked a smile.

"It sounds like someone wants you back, Louis," Liam teased, earning a nudge in the ribs from Zayn and a half smile from Louis.

"… Okay," Louis agreed, and both of his dads straightened in their seats.

"Okay? Okay, you'll come home?" Liam asked, thrilled. Louis nodded, and Liam clapped his hands together. "Oh, thank goodness. Harry would have been so disappointed. He's been an absolute mess."

Louis flushed pink at that. The statement seemed to cause worry to flash up behind his eyes, but Zayn took care of it before Liam had the chance. "Hey, don't worry. Harry just wants to be with you. He doesn't care if you're big or small, either. He just likes when you're happy and nice to him," Zayn explained. Louis nodded minimally, and Liam looked around the room at Louis's things.

"Well… Let's pack up, shall we?"

* * *

"And then I said 'Niall, no, that's what babies do', and he didn't say much of anything because he pretty much  _is_  a baby, not like me and you, Louis, cause me and you are big kids, and then he had to nap, so I got to hang out with Daddy all by myself, and then Baba came back downstairs, and then I was with  _both_ of them, and then-"

"Harry, sweetheart, I'm sure Louis is more than happy to hear about what you did when he was gone, but he just got back. Let's give him some time to settle in, okay?" Liam suggested, kissing his little boy's forehead.

Harry had been a little overexcited to see Louis. Apparently, whatever had happened in the past had been written off by Harry because all he wanted to do was talk to Louis, be with Louis, crawl on top of Louis… He was enthusiastic to say the least.

Unfortunately, Louis didn't look quite so happy to see Harry. The younger boy seemed to make him nervous, and Liam could tell that he needed a break.

"But Daddy, I gotta show him my pictures," Harry complained, holding up a big stack of crayon drawings. A quick look to Louis showed the other boy paling at the sight. Liam quickly redirected his son.

"You can do that later. How about you go to the playroom while Louis and I unpack, yeah?" he asked, desperate for his son to understand.

Harry pouted, but complied. Liam watched with pain in his heart as he watched his little boy trudge away. Meanwhile, Louis looked grateful.

"Thanks. I'm sorry, it's just… It's so much, and I don't know… what to do with myself. I don't know how I wanna be with him," he explained. Liam nodded understandingly. He grabbed Louis's bags and started carrying them back upstairs to his bedroom.

"Don't worry, Lou. All you need to think about is what  _you_  want, yeah? Ask Zayn or me for anything, and we'll take care of it. And if you don't want anything, then… then that's okay, too," he said over his shoulder as he brought everything up the stairs to be put away.

He caught sight of Zayn, rocking Niall back and forth in his rocking chair on the way to Louis's room. He quirked an eyebrow at his boyfriend, noticing the terrified look on Niall's face. Zayn only shrugged in response, which Liam took to mean that he didn't know how Niall was.

Niall seemed just as nervous around Louis as Louis seemed around Niall. However, while Louis was just starting to talk and be vocal about his problems, Niall seemed to have given up on words all together. It was concerning, to say the least. All they could do was hope that Niall started feeling more comfortable in the near future.

Louis threw his remaining stuff into his bedroom with more force than necessary. Liam turned to look at him, confused, before he saw the big crocodile tears running down the other boy's face.

"This doesn't  _feel_  right," Louis said as means of explanation. "Big or small, nothing feels right."

Liam cooed and pulled Louis into his arms, unable to hold back his fatherly tendencies. "We'll figure it out, Louis. It's okay. You're okay."

* * *

"And… there he is! And… there he is!" Zayn exclaimed. He was in the middle of a particularly adorable game of peekaboo with Niall. The little blond laughed every time his baba uncovered his face, and Zayn grabbed his hands, helping him clap. "You're such a good boy, Niall! I thought I had lost you!"

Niall smiled up at him until his eyes drifted away from Zayn's. A frown overtook his face and his eyes stayed locked on something behind Zayn's head.

Zayn turned around, only to see Louis in the doorway. He quickly gathered Niall up in his arms and watched the other boy nervously. Louis had been such a loose canon. It was impossible to know what he was planning on saying, and Niall couldn't handle much more verbal abuse.

Fortunately, Louis had other ideas in mind.

"You guys are playing peekaboo?" Louis asked, scratching at his sleeve, awkwardly.

"Yeah, we are." Zayn's voice was a bit unnecessarily curt. He wasn't mad at Louis, not in a million years. He knew that the reason for his outbursts before was due to too many bottled up emotions and too many unanswered questions all gathered up inside of someone who was too young mentally to handle them.

However, that did nothing to ease Zayn's protective streak. Niall was his baby, and he wouldn't let anyone hurt him ever again. He already missed the little blonde's voice far more than necessary. He wouldn't let Niall's smile be taken from him as well.

"Does he like that?" Louis questioned. Zayn let his eyes wander over Louis's form, quickly judging his intentions.

"Yeah, he loves peekaboo. Right, Niall?" Niall blinked owlishly up at him. Zayn propped Niall up on one hip to free one of his hands. He covered his eyes. "Where's Niall?! …There he is!" Zayn said with a big, happy smile. Niall laughed loudly in spite of Louis's proximity.

Louis wavered in his spot. "Do you think I could try?" He sounded unsure, but just the fact that he was willing to give it a  _shot_  –to  _try_  and meet Niall on his level- was enough for Zayn.

"Yeah, of course," he agreed with a smile. He quickly prompted Niall to participate. "Niall, baby, look at Louis! Look at Louis!" he exclaimed, bouncing him a bit in his arms.

The younger boy crinkled his nose a little but inevitably looked over at Louis. His big brother put both hands over his eyes and copied Zayn's approach. "Uh-oh! Where did Niall go?" Louis pretended to look around the room, his hands still covering his face. He turned back to where Niall was and revealed himself. "There he is!" he yelped, sending Niall into a mess of giggles.

Zayn smiled and kissed both of his boys' foreheads. "Good job, Louis," he said honestly. He turned back to his youngest and nuzzled noses with him. "And good job, you too, Niall! You've done so good!" Niall smiled, and Louis looked oddly pleased. Maybe there was some hope for this family yet.

* * *

"Whatchya watchin', squirt?" Louis asked Harry a week or so after coming home. Harry gasped, elated to have Louis's attention.

"Squirt!" he chirped back, grabbing Louis's hand and pulling him onto the couch next to him. Within seconds he had found a way to clamor up onto Louis's lap, despite the cute lattice blanket wrapped around his shoulders and the stuffed bunny in his arms.

Louis laughed. He had been doing his best to take his dads' –or, shoot, not his dads', his  _friends'_ \- advice and not to overthink things. He had come to understand that just because Harry acted small, that didn't mean he had to, too. Louis could be any way he wanted, and Harry could be however he wanted, even if Louis thought his mental age was a little weird. "Yeah, squirt. That's your nickname, right?" Louis asked, earning an overemphasized nod from Harry. "What are you watching?"

"Wallykazam!" Harry replied. "It's really good Louis! It's about Wally, and he's blue but his nose is purple! And he has a dragon, and there's a bad guy named Bobgoblin, which Baba says is funny cause it sounds like hobgoblin, and sometimes we watch this show together, especially when Niall is napping, because Baba has much more time when Niall is napping, and he likes Gina Giant, and, and, and  _so do I!"_ Harry was nearly bursting with excitement and Louis quirked his eyebrow up at his little brother (or friend, shit, his  _friend)._

"Yeah? And do Wally and Gina teach you anything?" he asked, knowing that his parents – _his friends-_  usually didn't let Harry watch anything that wasn't somewhat educational.

Harry nodded, curls flying, before a blush swept over his face. He looked down at his knees, picking at a lose thread on his trackies. "Um… Yes. Readin' stuff," he said. Louis frowned.

It was hard to see Harry so embarrassed and know that he caused it. Louis had been so worked up, scared that everyone else would make fun of him, for so long. Meanwhile, Harry was the one  _actually_ being made fun of. Both Haz and Niall were living Louis's worst fear, and Louis hadn't once stopped to think about how they were feeling about it.

Louis wrapped his arms around Harry. "I'm sorry, Hazza," he started, wincing at how young his own voice sounded. "I love you very much, and you're the best… the best little brother ever, and it's okay that you're learning how to read. Everybody has trouble with certain things," he promised, phasing in and out of little Louis as he spoke.

It was all he could do to stop from crying in frustration, but excited noises coming from Harry were enough to quickly put the smile back on his face. "Louis, I love you, too!" he cheered, smacking a big, wet kiss to his older brother's cheek.

Louis's nose crinkled, but he wasn't mad. He had missed Harry. If he couldn't play with him, or be young like him, then this was the next best thing.

* * *

"Louis, what are you playing with?" Liam asked, when he spotted the eldest surrounded by a huge mess of legos on the living room floor. Louis looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes. Liam tried to keep his expression open and reassuring as Louis awkwardly kicked some of the lego bricks away from him. 

"Um... I'm just... building," he answered, sounding neither young nor old. Liam hummed. 

"Do you think I could build with you?" he asked. Louis looked at him rather skeptically, but eventually nodded and scooted over. Hopefully, this was Louis's first step towards feeling better. 

* * *

 

"C'mon Niall, you can do it! Say love! Loooooove! Love. Love!  _Love!_ " Harry was begging Niall as Liam walked into the room. Niall was sitting up in his highchair, picking at cheerios, as Harry stood by his side. Liam arched an eyebrow at Zayn, who was sitting at the kitchen table with Louis, playing Scrabble.

"Harry is teaching Niall how to talk," Zayn said with a smile. The smirk on his face proved that it wasn't going anywhere, but Niall looked happy enough.

"Hazzy!" Niall yelped, putting a hand on Harry's face and giggling.

Liam hummed, and went to unbuckle Niall from his seat. "That is Hazzy, Niall, good job! I think someone has earned himself a good, long nap!" he said as happily as he could to avoid a tantrum. Fortunately, Niall just put his fingers in his mouth and stretched out for Liam with his free hand.

"Actually, Liam, Louis and I were talking, and we thought it would be good if he put him to bed. With me right behind him for moral support," Zayn explained, a nervous look on his face. Zayn had been more than reluctant to give Louis any alone time with Niall. He was the most regressed, which meant there was more for Louis to dislike about him and more reasons for Zayn to feel incredibly protective over the younger boy.

Liam hummed. "I think that's a great idea. Louis, why don't you carry him upstairs?" he asked.

Louis got up from his seat warily and walked over to Niall, pausing by his side. Niall tilted his head and looked up at him, confused. "Up?" he asked. Liam was a little shocked, not used to hearing Niall say most words, including that one, but he didn't say anything. He just watched as Louis picked Niall up and held him close.

"We'll be down in a moment," Zayn said reassuringly with a kiss to Liam's cheek as he followed Louis and his baby up the stairs.

"Louis is doin' good, daddy!" Harry chirped, and Liam smiled.

"Yeah, baby, he is."

* * *

A nearly inhuman noise came out of Louis's body as he cried. "Seven is too little, it's just too little, it's  _so embarrassing_ ," he wept. The older boy was a mess of snot and tears on his bed, and Liam didn't know how to help him.

"Louis, please don't get so hung up on seven. Your baba and I only ever said that because that's what age you most  _seemed_  like. You can be whatever you want to be, remember? Any age."

Louis wept into his pillow. "Seven is too little," he repeated. He was crying so hard, Liam doubted Louis was even hearing him as he spoke.

"I know, baby, you said that. But you don't  _have_  to be seven. You could be eight, or nine, or ten, or-"

"Nine?" Louis interrupted, lifting his face up to look at Liam very seriously. Tearstains crisscrossed his cheeks and his eyes were red and puffy, but the expression on his face was different than before. "What's nine like?" he asked.

Liam huffed, trying to think back to all the other nine-year-olds in his life. "Well… they're a bit more grown up than a seven-year-old. They start getting some bigger responsibilities. They're not quite old enough to take care of themselves, and they usually need an adult around to see that they're watched over, but they can do things like filling their own cups at dinner, and picking out their own clothes, and reading chapter books… But sometimes they still need a kiss and a snuggle before going to bed."

"Nine," Louis repeated again, scrunching his nose up at Liam.

"Yes, nine."

"I wanna be nine," Louis decided, a relieved look crossing his features as his body relaxed. Liam nearly cried with relief as he saw the tension leave Louis's body for the first time in months.

"Oh, Louis, I think that's perfect," Liam answered, wrapping his little boy up in a huge hug. "We'll try it, okay? And you don't get too caught up in thinking about what age you are exactly. And if you don't like it, then you can be big boy Louis right away, but nine sounds fine."

"Nine sounds fine."

Liam laughed a little. "Yeah, babes, it even rhymes."

Louis pulled back from the hug and smiled up at his daddy. "You're a poet and you know it!" he said gleefully. Liam snorted and pecked kiss after kiss all over his angel's face.

* * *

It turned out that Louis was really about eight. Being nine had resulted in far too much frustration for Louis, who found he couldn't keep up with all his responsibilities as a nine-year-old and still be happy. He wanted to sit in his parents' laps more. He didn't have all the answers to Harry's questions. He needed more help in certain situations than he was getting…

But eight was great!

At eight-years-old, Louis felt free to be creative, and imaginative, and playful. He wasn't quite so embarrassed to ask for help, and his daddies still watched out for him much more than they would if he was Big Louis. He was happier than he had been in months, and he showed it by being on his absolute best behavior.

Louis had even taken it upon himself to help teach Harry how to read again, and he was extra careful with Niall's feelings. Liam and Zayn could see all of their boys relaxing into their roles in the family again, and it helped them to settle a little, too.

Liam was reflecting on all of this, when Louis burst into the laundry room. "Dad! Wanna play catch?" he asked, throwing a baseball glove at him without any warning. Liam caught it and laughed.

"Sure, babes," Liam agreed easily, throwing the last of a load of laundry into the washer. "Why don't you run out and tell your Baba and brothers that we're going out, yeah? Maybe they wanna come outside, too." It was just starting to get warm outside again, and Liam was positive that the younger half of the Mayne family could use some fresh air.

"Okay!" Louis chirped, running off as Liam started the washer.

Soon enough, everyone was outside. Zayn had Niall between his legs on a picnic blanket, and Niall's eyes were bright as he babbled on and on about whatever came to mind. It was refreshing to have Niall talking again. He was back to being the adorable three-year-old they'd come to know and love.

Liam, meanwhile, focused on taking turns, catching and throwing with Harry and Louis. His tosses to the younger were soft, and Harry positively beamed whenever he managed to catch one. Meanwhile, he took it a bit rougher with Louis, who seemed rather impressed that he managed to catch as many as he did.

"You're doing really great, Loubear! You're such a grown up!" he praised. Louis flashed him a smile with all 32 teeth.

"Eight is great!" he replied back, obviously feeling capable. Liam smiled.

"Yeah, peanut. Eight is great!"


End file.
